The purpose of this study was to apply a diathesis-stress model to the study of Latino self-efficacy and college adjustment. Specifically, it was of interest to determine whether self-efficacy or its subcomponents would buffer Latino students from the effects of stress in college adjustment or its subcomponents. The sample consisted of 144 Latino undergraduate students. Results suggest that although self-efficacy and its subcomponents had a large effect on adjustment and its subcomponents, they were not found to buffer stress. Hence a diathesis-stress model was not supported. Academic self-efficacy did buffer the effects of stress in predicting academic success, and was supportive of a partial diathesis-stress model. Implications of these findings include promoting the importance of having high self-efficacy and attempting to instill it in Latino youth through the educational system.

<p> The purpose of this study is to describe the relationship between acculturation and Arabic language skills in Arab American youth in a community center setting. Seventy Arabic speaking students at the age of 13 through 17 in a Midwestern state were selected on a non-random sampling basis to participate in this study. Three main measures were used to collect data: (1) Student Demographic Survey, (2) student acculturation scale and (3) the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE Exam).</p><p> Descriptive analyses were used to summarize, classify and simplify the data collected from the two surveys. Inferential analyses, on the other hand, were used to investigate two research hypotheses of this study. Two statistical tests were used: Pearson product moment correlations were used to determine if the level of acculturation was related to the students' language proficiency in Arabic. A multiple linear regression analysis was used to determine if acculturation could be used to predict Arabic proficiency after controlling for age, gender, years of school in the United States and years of formal education in Arabic. The demographic variables were entered first in the multiple linear regression analysis to remove their effects on Arabic language proficiency. There were non-significant relationships between the variables. Explanations were provided regarding why the research hypotheses were not supported. Potential future research is also examined.</p>

The purpose of this study was to examine relationships among demands perceived by international graduate students and their spouses, their perception of capabilities to meet the demands, and their adjustment. The variables used in this study were operationalized concepts of the Family Adjustment and Adaptation Response (FAAR) Model. Each variable has more than one indicator (i.e., demands were represented by three indicators of stress, life strains, and college strains; capabilities were measured through two indicators of resources and coping behaviors; and adjustment was represented by two indicators of social functioning and emotional and psychological adjustment). In addition, reliability and validity of a newly developed the Homesickness and Contentment (HC) scale were examined. / Multivariate regression analysis showed that there are significant effects of perceived demands on perceived capabilities, perceived demands on adjustment, and perceived capabilities on adjustment. Analysis of relationships among different indicators of variables were also reported. / Reliability and validity analyses on the HC scales were conducted. The HC scale is a 20-item scale intended to be culturally sensitive to Asian population when measuring emotional and psychological adjustment. The HC scale showed excellent subscale reliability and high global reliability. The scale also showed high factorial construct validity. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 57-04, Section: A, page: 1851. / Major Professor: Neil Abell. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1996.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the understandings and meanings of ethnicity as constructed by preservice teachers within the context of a semester-long, junior level, multicultural education course and to develop grounded theory. The participants in the study included the researcher and 59 preservice teachers. / The methods implemented in this naturalistic, interpretive study included the collection of qualitative data through participant observation, audiotaping of selected class meetings, and document analysis of dialogue journals, reader response journals, and modified case studies of elementary school children. The theoretical framework consisted of constructivism (Von Glasersfeld), multicultural theory (Banks), critical pedagogy (McLaren), and transactional reader response theory (Rosenblatt). / The research questions that guided the development of this study were: (1) What understandings of ethnicity do preservice teachers bring with them to the course? (2) How do preservice teachers construct their understandings of ethnicity? (3) How do preservice teachers make meaning from course-related experiences and other identifiable experiences relating to ethnicity? (4) How do preservice teachers think that their beliefs about ethnicity will influence them in their roles as teachers? / Through inductive analysis three themes emerged: Responding, Understanding, and Envisioning. Responding addresses the preservice teachers' transaction with children's and adult's literature as a validation of their prior experiences, pre-existing beliefs, and personal value systems. Understanding and Envisioning presents a continuum of stages of belief of ascribed ethnicity. The continuum describes stages from Denying Differences to Accepting Differences to Valuing Differences. / It demonstrates a need for teacher educators to assist preservice teachers' understanding that multicultural education is not simply curriculum content, but it includes teaching for equity and the reduction of racism. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-08, Section: A, page: 3028. / Major Professor: Kathryn P. Scott. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1995.

Based on the cross-cultural adjustment, education, and job performance literatures, an international student performance taxonomy is proposed and tested with a sample of 272 exchange students from nine countries studying in Mexico. Results of confirmatory factor analyses provided tentative support for an eight-factor taxonomy comprised of performance dimensions labeled: Engaging in academic and nonacademic tasks, Communicating with host nationals, Writing and using the local language, Helping and cooperating with other international students, Developing social and personal relationships with host nationals, Adjusting to general conditions of living abroad, Demonstrating effort in an academic setting, and Maintaining personal discipline. Issues concerning the practical implications of these findings as well as the generalizability of the confirmed performance taxonomy to other educational and work contexts are discussed / acase@tulane.edu

This thesis examines women's education in Cajamarca, Peru and documents the personal experiences of those women who initiated and experienced the change in this field. On November 15, 1934, Law Number 7983 created the first normal school for women in Cajamarca The social and economic impact of this institution was tremendous not only locally for the city and department of Cajamarca, but regionally for northern Peru. Young women came from many cities in northern Peru to study in Cajamarca. Many of these women returned to their communities and pursued careers in education A recorded history of Santa Teresita Normal School and the women responsible for it serves as a testimony of the positive cultural change still being realized in Cajamarca, Peru. The history of this institution and the lives of the women affected by it are integral for understanding the role of women in the history of Peru / acase@tulane.edu

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2009. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-06, Section: A, page: . Adviser: Gary A. Cziko. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 82-87) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2009. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-06, Section: A, page: . Adviser: Antonia Darder. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 156-165) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

ESOL (English for speakers of other languages) community college students enrolled in a required writing course were introduced to contrastive rhetoric to assist them in making connections between their first languages (L1) and English to enhance their writing. Students wrote a paragraph in their first language and then compared the experience to writing in English. I asked them to investigate specific cohesive devices, comparing how each device functioned in English with how it might function in L1. The research was focused on the question What cultural and linguistic capital do students bring to the writing class, and what is the relationship of this capital to their English writing? A group of seven multilingual students from Pakistan whose L1 was Urdu participated in the study. My methodology, based on teacher research and a case study approach, included four data sets: questionnaires, first drafts of the participants' formal writings, group interviews, and guided student investigations into cohesion and contrastive rhetoric. The results indicate that the students' writing, which was not highly rated by a panel of native English speakers, had few problems with cohesion and also few characteristics that might be traced to the influence of Pakistani English. Instead, mistakes in conventional English grammar and a perceived lack of content development were what influenced the raters. Implications for future research include a suggestion of how colleges and universities may benefit the increasing numbers of students who are users of World Englishes by valuing the linguistic and cultural capital they bring to the classroom.

My dissertation is a qualitative study using content analysis to explore the roles of grandparents in multicultural picture books. I developed 14 Cultural Markers to analyze my first research question concerning how grandparents from a variety of cultures fulfilled their roles as Family and Cultural Historians, Cultural Role Models, and Experts on Traditions. I identified one Cultural-Sharing Symbol per book to answer my research question regarding how Cultural Markers and Cultural-Sharing Symbols related to these grandparent roles. My third research question explored how Cultural-Sharing Symbols related to character growth in the grandparent/protagonists. My fourth research question considered how gender differences might have influenced grandparents from a variety of cultures as they fulfilled the studied roles. I developed seven Gender Continuum Markers to investigate possible differences in how the eight studied grandmothers fulfilled the three grandparent roles, compared to the eight studied grandfathers. My fifth research question considered how Gender Continuum Markers might relate to possible gender differences in the grandparent/grandchild relationship. To answer the five questions I selected 16 picture books featuring a grandfather and grandmother from the following cultures: African American, Mainstream, East Asian American, Asian American, European American, Latino, Jewish American and Native American. To organize and analyze my findings, I developed a technique related to intertextuality called cumulative story analysis. I found that both European American grandparents, both Native American grandparents, and the Jewish American grandfather fulfilled all three roles almost equally, using most possible Cultural Markers. Both Mainstream grandparents were portrayed with significantly fewer tradition Cultural Markers than the other grandparents. All grandchildren/protagonists grew by the books' ends. Continuity was the most prevalent, powerful Cultural Marker. Most grandparents were portrayed with Gender Continuum Markers that might be considered closer to the traditionally feminine side of the continuum for non-verbal interactions. There was even less verbal variation between genders; talk was usually portrayed with blended Gender Continuum Markers. There were definitely more gender similarities than differences when the books were compared both across cultures and within cultures. The bond of grandparent love existed beyond gender limitations.